Mercer County, Ohio: deer harvest and public hunting land
Mercer County covers 473 square miles around Celina. Hunters checked 1,432 deer here in the 2025-26 season, 643 of them by archers, by the Division of Wildlife's final report. That is up 10% from 2024, and the most in the 4 years shown. 4.3% of Mercer County is public land open to the public, the largest share land on ODNR's hunting map (12,010 acres), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and ODNR's land boundaries.
Data updated October 2026. Harvest: the Division of Wildlife's harvest reports, 2021-22 to 2025-26. Land: PAD-US 4.1 and ODNR's land layer.
Land on ODNR's hunting mapOther state landMetro parks, county and city landLand trusts and other open landMercer CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 302,975 acres (473 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025-26 | 1,432 (532 antlered, 900 antlerless) |
| Archery and gun, 2025-26 | 643 archery, 789 gun |
| Public land | 4.3% (12,929 acres) |
| ODNR hunting areas | 8 (12,015 acres inside Mercer County) |
| Towns in and near it | Celina, Coldwater, St. Henry, Elgin, Osgood and New Weston |
How many deer are harvested in Mercer County?
Hunters checked 1,432 deer in Mercer County in 2025-26: 532 antlered and 900 antlerless. Archers took 643 and gun hunters 789.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered | Antlerless | Archery | Gun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 1,432 | 532 | 900 | 643 | 789 |
| 2024-25 | 1,307 | 501 | 806 | 553 | 754 |
| 2023-24 | 1,137 | 473 | 664 | 539 | |
| 2021-22 | 931 |
Source: the Division of Wildlife's 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 final deer harvest reports and Publication 5304 (2021-22), Mercer County. 2022-23 is not shown. For 2021-22 Publication 5304 gives 397 bucks, 406 does and 128 button bucks; the final reports of later seasons count bucks with shed or very short antlers as antlerless.
How much public land is in Mercer County?
12,929 of Mercer County's 302,975 acres are public land open to the public (4.3%). The biggest share is land on ODNR's hunting map: 12,010 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Mercer County |
|---|---|---|
| Land on ODNR's hunting map | 12,010 | 4% |
| Metro parks, county and city land | 394 | 0.1% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 380 | 0.1% |
| Other state land | 145 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 12,929 | 4.3% |
Measured by FilledTag inside the county line from USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public) and ODNR's land boundaries with hunting status. Hunting rules differ by manager: ODNR wildlife areas, hunting areas and forests marked open follow Ohio's statewide seasons, and those marked restricted limit hunting by place, season or permit; national forest is open; refuges follow U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rules; Corps of Engineers lake land is open in many places under each project's own rules; metro parks and city land are closed to most hunting.
ODNR areas open to hunting in Mercer County
ODNR areas open to hunting in Mercer County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Grand Lake St Marys State Park: 11,353 acres
- Mercer Wildlife Area: 323 acres
- Coldwater Creek Nature & Wildlife Corridor: 116 acres
- Burntwood-Langenkamp Wetland: 89 acres
- Windy Point Wetlands: 42 acres
- Prairie Creek Nature State Park: 37 acres
- Chickasaw Creek Treatment Wetlands: 36 acres
- Little Chickasaw Fishing Access: 19 acres
How do you get to Mercer County?
Highways through it: OH 118 (about 27 miles inside), OH 49 (about 27 miles inside), OH 29 (about 24 miles inside), OH 219 (about 20 miles inside) and OH 119 (about 19 miles inside). Towns inside: Celina, Coldwater, St. Henry, Fort Recovery, Rockford and Mendon. Nearby: Elgin (on the line), Osgood (on the line), New Weston (on the line) and Willshire (on the line).
Which counties border Mercer County?
Mercer County touches 4 other counties. Their latest ODNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darke County | 1,356 | 2025 | 0.4% |
| Shelby County | 1,562 | 2025 | 1.4% |
| Auglaize County | 1,621 | 2025 | 1.4% |
| Van Wert County | 968 | 2025 | 0.2% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Mercer County in 2025-26?
1,432: 532 antlered and 900 antlerless (Division of Wildlife). In 2024-25: 1,307.
Is there public hunting land in Mercer County?
12,929 acres, 4.3% of the county, are public land open to the public by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and ODNR's land boundaries, the largest share land on ODNR's hunting map (12,010 acres). ODNR's layer shows 8 areas open to hunting here.
How many deer do archers take in Mercer County?
643 of the 1,432 deer checked in 2025-26 were taken with a crossbow or longbow (Division of Wildlife).
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Where these numbers come from
- Deer harvest: the Division of Wildlife's 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 final deer harvest reports and Publication 5304 (2021-22).
- Public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public) and ODNR's land boundaries with hunting status. ODNR areas open to hunting: ODNR lands hunting status.
- Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 cartographic county boundaries. Highways and towns: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 primary and secondary roads; U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer, places.
FilledTag is not part of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife. Numbers are copied from ODNR and the federal sources above, or measured from their maps; nothing on this page is estimated by FilledTag.
Ohio hunting Darke County Shelby County Auglaize County Van Wert County